The Sufi Path is a process of amanesis (remembrance, realization). In pre-eternity, God asked the spirits: Alastu bi Rabikum (Am I not your Lord)? When we come into this material existence, we forget about pre-eternity and the task of life is to remember our way back to the truth concerning the nature of our essential relationship with God. This process of remembering or recollecting is known as amanesis.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Gardens, both wild and cultivated, appear to have an attraction of near
universal proportions for human beings. Different races, ethnic groups,
nationalities, religious traditions, and eras all have been drawn to
gardens.

One might wonder why this should be the case. Why do gardens
appeal to us in such a deeply satisfying manner?

To be sure, the flowers,
shrubs, trees, grass and so on, have both individual, as well as collective,
beauty. In addition, the diversity of shapes is intriguing, and the endless
combination of flora arrangements is fascinating. Moreover, everything
contributes to the wonderful bouquet of aromas which vary in character
throughout the day and night.

Toss in the mystery of the unfolding of
life going on in the garden, and one might suppose all of the foregoing explains
why most people are inclined to gardens. The answer, however, may run deeper
still.

We find gardens peaceful and restful. Gardens seem to induce us to
reflect on life. We find varying degrees of contentment and joy from
gardens.

We come away from gardens refreshed. There appears to be some
kind of energy or source of renewal which we take away with us from
gardens.

There is almost a timeless quality to gardens. Things do change,
but, somehow, time often seems to be suspended. The rest of the world
recedes.

Our senses are somewhat intoxicated from the effects of the
garden. Our minds are massaged.

Gardens tug at our hearts and emotions.
Every aspect of our being seems to be connected to, and affected by,
gardens.

We are captivated by the balance and harmony in gardens.
Thoughts and remembrance of God tend to arise naturally in the context of
gardens.

Sufi masters indicate physical gardens are only one variety in a
spectrum of infinite diversity. In fact, the gardens of the physical world are
but a distant reflection of the gardens associated with spiritual
possibilities.

Whatever contentment, peace, joy, happiness, rest,
refreshment, wonder, beauty, fascination, intoxication and satisfaction we may
receive from physical gardens is virtually nothing compared to what can be
experienced in different kinds of spiritual garden.

Indeed, on the basis
of experience and not theoretical speculation, the Sufi masters note there is no
way to describe the intensity, depth, richness, subtlety and diversity inherent
in spiritual gardens. At best, one only can allude, in a very limited way, to a
few superficial dimensions of the experiences involving non-physical
gardens.

Our senses, mind , heart and soul are drawn to gardens because
their many qualities strike a resonance deep within our being. For people of
insight and understanding, such as the Sufi masters, the qualities of the
gardens of the physical world are but a sign of the existence of other
non-physical gardens which have garden-like qualities capable of reaching even
further into the possibilities of our essential being.

The meaning of
"garden-like qualities" in the foregoing refers to the capacity of non-physical
gardens to generate, albeit on a much grander scale of both majesty and beauty,
a sense of peace, joy, refreshment, contentment and so on, just as physical
gardens do. However, the ultimate character of these non-physical gardens may
not have anything in common with the structural forms given expression through
physical gardens. In fact, some spiritual gardens are without any form, per se,
whatsoever, yet induce in us extremely intense experiences which are somewhat
analogous - in a distant sort of way - to those experiences engendered in us in
physical gardens.

One does not necessarily have to leave the physical
plane in order to get some semblance of taste of a non-physical garden. For
example, in the garden of association with one's spiritual guide, one
experiences garden-like qualities.

When one is with one's shaykh or
teacher, one feels at peace. One is happy, joyful, restful. One discovers a
contentment in the presence of one's spiritual guide.

Time almost seems
to be suspended. The rest of the world becomes relatively
unimportant.

Life seems to have more balance and harmony while in the
company of one's teacher. One finds thoughts of God and remembrance of God come
more easily in the presence of the shaykh than when one is removed from the
teacher. One is more given to spiritual reflection when associating with one's
spiritual guide.

One is drawn to the inner beauty of one's shaykh. One
keeps discovering new facets of wonder and fascination in her or him.

One
can become extremely intoxicated or ecstatic in the presence of the teacher. One
comes away from the spiritual guide refreshed and invigorated. One longs to
return to the garden of spiritual association as quickly as
possible.

Sufi masters refer to many other kinds of garden. There are,
for instance, gardens of remembrance which are accessed through saying, and
becoming absorbed in, the Names and Attributes of God.

When, by the grace
of God, one is summoned into the reality of these Names and Attributes, as well
as opened up to their infinite meanings of overwhelming beauty and majesty, one
is transported to gardens unlike any in the physical realm. One is given
entrance to gardens beyond all description.

There are gardens of
forgetfulness in which one is released from the veils of the false self. There
are gardens of subsistence in God when one's true, essential self is
realized.

There are gardens of gnosis. In these gardens, one has direct,
certain, unmediated knowledge of God. In these gardens, God discloses different
dimensions or facets of Divinity.

There are gardens for every spiritual
station. There are gardens of repentance and longing. There are gardens of
dependence on God. There are gardens of gratitude, patience and
sincerity.

One travels, if God wishes, from gardens of friendship to
gardens of exclusive friendship. By the grace of Divinity, one is transported
from gardens of passion to gardens of ardent affection.

There are gardens
of intense love in which the spirit soars in flights of intimacy with Divinity.
During such flights, one becomes both enslaved and bewildered by the infinite
beauty of the face of the Beloved manifested through these gardens.

There
are gardens of uniqueness. If God wishes, one is opened up to the mystery which
is breathed into one's essential nature by Divinity at the advent of
Self-realization.

There are countless other gardens. No two gardens are
the same.

No two spiritual gardens give the same kind of joy and
happiness. No two gardens give the same modality of contentment, peace and
satisfaction.

No two gardens disclose the same Divine colors. No two
gardens share the same wonder and beauty.

No two spiritual gardens bring
the same flavor of ecstasy. No two gardens show the same kind of breathtaking
balance, symmetry and harmony.

The point of embarkation for the
possibility of journeying to any and all of the aforementioned gardens is, God
willing, in the garden of spiritual association with the shaykh. Without this
association and the grace and barakah, or blessings, of Divinity to which it
gives expression, the nearest one will come to a first-hand experience of any of
these other gardens is a spiritual travelogue such as the one being itemized in
this essay.